Plastic Logic Delays Que E-Reader

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Plastic Logic Delays Que E-Reader

Plastic Logic, which was set to ship its large screen Que e-reader in April, is now delaying it to "sometime this summer."

The company sent notifications to pre-order customers late Thursday afternoon announcing the delay and saying it needed the time to "fine-tune features and enhance the overall product."

Plastic Logic launched the Que at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The Que proReader has an 8.5 x 11-inch touchscreen display and the ability to handle a range of documents such as Microsoft Word files, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, digital books, PDFs, magazines and newspapers. It can also synchronize with Microsoft Outlook to display e-mails and calendar.

A 4-GB version of the Que with Wi-Fi and storage for about 35,000 documents will cost $650. An $800 8-GB version that can store 75,000 documents and includes both Wi-Fi and 3G capability — powered by AT&T– will be $800.

Plastic Logic CEO Richard Archuleta didn't reveal the exact reasons for the delay. But if it is to make sure that the company works out all the kinks in the product before it ships, he may have made the right decision. Last year, many e-reader enthusiasts criticized Barnes & Noble for rushing its Nook e-reader to market. Barnes & Noble has since the launch offered firmware updates to fix some of the Nook's problems.

But the delay is also likely to cost Plastic Logic some ground. Apple's iPad tablet will be available April 3 and the device starts at $500. Though it doesn't offer an E Ink screen, the iPad is also targeted at consumers who want to read digital books. Apple will have its own iBook store, similar to iTunes, so consumers can buy digital books directly from the device.

Meanwhile, other companies such as Dell and HP are also planning to launch their own tablets and plan to highlight digital reading as one of the key experiences on the device.